A man has been found guilty of leading a "satanic" sex cult from his home in a small Welsh town. Colin Batley, 48, of Kidwelly, west Wales, presided over a group that preyed on young children and held occult rites.

He was found guilty at Swansea crown court of rape and carrying out perverted sexual acts on children and adults.

Batley was the self-styled high priest of the group, which operated from a series of homes in a cul-de-sac in the seaside town.

He and five other alleged members insisted throughout the five-week trial that no cult had ever existed. But the jury dismissed that, finding him guilty of more than two dozen acts of sexual perversion linked to his activities in the cult.

They included 11 separate rapes, three indecent assaults, causing prostitution for personal gain, causing a child to have sex and inciting a child to have sex.

The jury also found him guilty of six counts of buggery and four counts of possessing indecent images of a child.

His wife, Elaine Batley, 47, was convicted of sex-related charges after the trial, as were Jacqueline Marling, 42, and Shelly Millar, 35. All lived in Kidwelly.

The jury has returned to its deliberations in the case of Sandra Iveson, 45, who faced a single charge of indecency with a child, and has yet to give verdicts on eight charges against Batley of possessing indecent images of children.

Vincent Barden, 70, of Kempston, Bedfordshire, who was not a cult member, has already admitted two counts of sexual assault on an underage girl. The jury is still deliberating over one count of rape, which he denies.

Colin Batley is said to have forced a number of his victims into prostitution and claimed 25% of their earnings.

In one instance, the trial heard, Batley tried to force a pregnant schoolgirl to give birth. The girl, who had been raped by a cult member, was told all children conceived within the cult belonged to it.

New cult members, often deeply troubled children, were forced to go through an elaborate initiation ceremony. At its heart would be sex with an adult, with anyone unwilling to take part warned they risked being killed by a cult assassin.

News of what had been going on was greeted by many in Kidwelly with shock and disbelief.

Geraint Thomas, Kidwelly town council clerk, said: "The first we knew about this matter was when it was publicised in the newspapers. It is fair to say that on reading about it we were shocked and dismayed.

"We view this matter as a one-off. Kidwelly is a safe and respectable place to live and visit for all ages. The community spirit within Kidwelly is such that we will rise above this awful incident."